Ashton Kutcher is attached to star as Steve Jobs in Jobs, an independent biopic being produced and financed by Five Star Institute's Mark Hulme.

Wasting no time, Joshua Michael Stern is set to begin principal photography in May while Kutcher is on hiatus from the CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men. Kutcher is a natural to play Jobs; the resemblance between the two is unmistakable.

CAA is handling domestic rights to Jobs.

It's a high-profile assignment for Kutcher, and Jobs looks to get off the ground before Sony pulls together its own biopic on the man behind Apple Inc. Last fall, Sony snapped up the film rights to the authorized biography by Walter Isaacsonthat was published within weeks of Jobs' Oct. 5 death.

Stern (Swing Vote) will direct Jobs from a script by Matt Whiteley. The film will chronicle Jobs' meteoric rise from Northern California hippie to co-founder of Apple.

Although best known for comedy, Kutcher has tried at his hand at drama, including The Butterfly Effect. He also appeared in the ensemble drama Bobby, about the assassination of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy in Los Angeles.

Hulme appears to be a newcomer to the film-financing scene. He's CEO and founder of Five Star Institute, a Dallas-based mortgage industry group.

Kutcher is represented by CAA and Untitled Entertainment; Stern is represented by CAA and 3Arts.